Antiques Roadshow expert gets emotional as he refuses to value a rare artifact with 'awful' past

Ancient artifacts tell stories of old civilizations and past glories, but for some, they also bring back traumatizing memories. One such item more than hundreds of years old went unvalued on the famous "Antiques Roadshow." In an episode earlier this year, an expert refused to put a price on an Ivory Disc that had engravings linked to the awful slave trade. The expert on the BBC show, Ronnie Archer-Morgan became emotional citing the struggles of his own family as the reason behind his refusal to put a price on it.

The Need to Have Important Conversations

After the presenter welcomed the guest who brought an ivory disc inscribed with details of a trade, Ronnie clarified that the Antiques Roadshow "wholly, unequivocally" disapproves of the trade in ivory. However, he went on to add that the item wasn't just linked to the ivory trade but to an even more awful practice.  "It's about trading in human life," Ronnie revealed.

"It's probably one of the most difficult things that I've ever had to talk about, but talk about it we must," he said.

He then explained that the item is "a testament to the callous trade" that occurred till the 19th century. He then asked the guest how she had acquired the disc. The guest shared that the disc was bought 36 years ago for £3 (~$3.93) from a family that she used to work for. The guest added that at the time, she had no idea what it was. 

"It said traders and I thought it meant trading in coffee or spices, but actually I realized it was trading in people," she said. 

The expert showed that the disc had the name 'Prince Jemmy of Grandy', inscribed on it. Ronnie believed that it must be an indigenous trader who provided slaves for sale. "A despicable human being. I think he was an indigenous trader, somebody from Nigeria. He wouldn't have been trading in his own people, it was another nation, another tribe," the expert explained. 

Too Awful to be Valued

He went on to add that such objects were extremely rare and he had only known about the existence of half a dozen of them. "I mean, this is a document, the living proof in a way, the surviving proof that this awful trade went on. Look how beautiful the calligraphy is. The beauty of the calligraphy, it just belies the awfulness of the message," Ronnie exclaimed.

The disk also carried the name of the ship "Anna" and the year "1782". The guest explained that the ship contained 535 slaves, who were transported from Bonny in Nigeria to Montego Bay.

Ronnie added that these people were probably stacked on top of each other while they were on the ship for months on end. He said that this was 50 years before 1833 when slavery was abolished. Thus, the item belonged to a time when the trade was rife, he noted.

"My great-grandmother was a returned slave from Nova Scotia in Canada and came back to Sierra Leone and I actually think it's my cultural duty, our cultural duty to talk about things like this," Ronnie shared. 

Nearly tearing up, Ronnie refused to value the item. "I just don't want to value it. I do not want to put a price on something that signifies such an awful business," he said.  However, he explained that the value here is in the lesson that the item can teach people.